|
11.23.06
Happy ThanksgivingA friend of mine will be spending the holiday with his extended family in New York. All guests have been told to abide by two strict household rules: 1. NO DAIRY PRODUCTS! 2. NO RED FOOD! Edict number one is meant to accommodate a member of the family who desires a kosher meal. Edict number two is designed to prevent stains on the family’s white carpet and couches. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, no matter how crazy “yours” might be. 11.22.06
An Interview With Photographer Stuart Isett I first saw the work of photojournalist Stuart Isett in a December, 2004 The New York Times article about the Millau Bridge in France. Like most newspaper photographs, the image was meant to illustrate the story, but this one overwhelmed it. My eyes were drawn again and again to Isett’s image of a bridge that is “higher than the Eiffel Tower, longer than the Champs-Élysées”:
Strangely, however, this image of the monstrous bridge floating amid layers of thick, cottony clouds — a picture that seemed to place the bridge not in France, but rather in a vast, fantastical realm of mist and myth — was not representative of Isett’s work as I would later find it on the photo-sharing site Flickr. There, I would see most often among Isett’s photographs not towering shots of massive architectural objects, but rather street-level images of everyday life in Asia — images such as this one, which Isett took in Nanjie, a model Communist village in China:
As I combed through Isett’s work on flickr, I began to trace the outlines of the man behind the camera. Isett’s work is dominated by a strong social, empirical vision that manages to be both empathetic and investigative at the same time. His captions disclose the political and humanitarian interests that underpin his photography. I wanted to know more about Isett, and to find out why this man, who had the ability to publish his photographs in the pages of The New York Times and on the cover of Time magazine, felt a need to publish his work on Flickr. I contacted Stuart and asked him for an interview; he gracefully acceded to my request.
on your formative years as a photographer Q. When did you first become interested in photography? A. When I was about 13. My Grandfather was a hobby photographer and he let me use one of his old 35mm, Zeiss cameras from the 1940s. With such a simple camera, I was really forced to learn quickly about camera basics which helped spark my interest in photography.
Q. What was the first photograph that you remember making an impression on you? A. I think was amazed at all my first photos. Not amazed because they were great photos, but amazed by the mechanics of capturing the world and then having that world permanently stored onto paper. I like photos because of their sense of time and place, how they remind me of the time I took them.
Q. Can you describe the first photograph you took that made you, or someone else, think that you might have a calling as a photographer?  A. The first photo that made me think I wanted to do this as a professional was taken at the Statue Of Liberty of all places. I was 19 at the time and taking a intro photo class at university. I was looking for a different angle on the statue so I stood underneath and shot up. It taught me early on to try and look at the world differently, see beyond what is normal, what is standard and what is expected.
Q. Do you feel that your identity changes when you lift the camera to your eye? Do you act differently? A. I’ve always felt that being a documentary photographer requires that you ‘act’ to a certain amount. Whether I’m with gang bangers in Chicago, Yakuza in Japan or Khmer Rouge guerillas in Cambodia, you have to take on a certain personality that helps you to blend in and work. Maybe it’s being quiet and discreet, maybe I’ll be in your face and more aggressive. I’ve also described the process as being like dancing—sometimes you lead, sometimes you’re led, but you always have to be aware of the rhythm, tempo and form of the music. I’m a lousy dancer but when I photograph, I try to keep a finely tuned sense of what is going on around me at all times.
Q. Which photographers have influenced you most? A. Too many to list and every week I’m influenced by someone new. Early influences were Eugene Richards, Philip Jones Griffiths and David Douglas Duncan. More recent influences have been Philip Blenkinsop, Weegee.
on photojournalism Q. When you’re on assignment, and have submitted shots to an editor, do you find that you have differences of opinion over which shots should run in the paper? Or is it usually pretty easy to agree on the strongest images? A. It’s never easy and deadline pressure often makes it impossible to have much say. Depends on whether I’m working with newspaper editors or magazine editors. The latter give you more time to have input. My editors at The New York Times are good and often go with my lead image when I file. When shooting, though, ultimately I photograph for myself. If an editor butchers the work there’s not much I can do besides look at the work myself and find its strengths and weaknesses.
Q. What’s the wildest thing you’ve done to gain better access for a shot? A. Well, I’m not paparazzi so when I climb walls or take motorcycle taxis to a war zone, it’s usually to cross a simple physical barrier. I find talking is the best way to get any kind of access and sometimes that requires a certain ‘creativity’.
Q. What types of assignments attract you most? A. Long term, documentary projects. The ones that sadly don’t exist much these days so I usually self finance them. I enjoy working at night, with shady characters in dingy cities. Something about Weegee’s style of work, showing the dark underbelly of life appeals to me.  A Manila policeman points to a man arrested after a drug raid.
Q. Have you ever not taken a photograph because you didn’t want to embarrass the person in front of you? Have you ever destroyed any of your shots for similar reasons? Has anyone else sought to destroy or confiscate them (or your camera) because they didn’t like the shots you took? A. I’ve been detained and questioned a few times (China, Burma and in Cambodia) and have been forced to hide film in a few situations. Again, if there’s a problem I often try to politely talk my way out of it. Plenty of times I’ve not taken images because I could tell the subject did not want their photo taken. When people are in a tough situation I always make it clear what I’m doing—I will never just jump in, snap a shot and then take off.
Q. Recently, conservative blogs have criticized a New York Times photojournalist, Joao Silva, for his photograph of a Mahidi Army sniper. They imply that, by spending time with Iraqi insurgents, and by photographing them instead of relaying their locations to the U.S. Army, Silva was “sleeping with the enemy.” As a photojournalist, how do you respond to these accusations? A. Nonsense. Trying to blame the press for failed policies never works for any government but we make a handy scapegoat. Joao’s doing his job, showing us the reality of what is happening in Iraq. People who want to hide this kind of information are simply divorcing themselves from reality, an attitude which seems to sum up pretty well our failed policies in Iraq.
on flickr Q. The first time I viewed your flickrstream, I was amazed by your photos. But my incredulity doubled when I saw that you had taken a photo that I had noticed in The New York Times. Why post your photos on flickr when you’re already reaching such a wide audience? A. Two reasons. I never get any feed back from my work in the New York Times. People rarely write letters to the editor about the images!! Also, I don’t even get much feed back from my editors beyond a ‘great’ or ‘thanks’ so it’s nice to here from people to hear what they think of my work. I’ve always preferred that kind of one on one feedback, shooting for a newspaper is a way to make a career but personally I sometimes don’t find it satisfying for the very reason that I don’t learn how my images affect people.  A surgeon at Sisophon Hospital prepares to amputate the leg of a soldier who stepped on a landmine.
Q. What do you think of Flickr? What are some of the good and bad things about it? What have you gotten out of posting your work there? A. Well, what’s good and bad about the Flickr is the same as what’s good and bad about any public space. You get clowns but you also get people passionate about photography and passionate about the subjects I shoot. People use it for different reasons, for me it’s to see which of my images are affecting people and in what ways. I hope it helps my work.
Q. Can you name some photographers you’ve encountered on flickr who deserve a wider audience? A. Tokyo Danz. Great work from Japan.
on the stories you’ve told Q. Two of your photo sets on flickr are particularly stunning. Let’s start with Japan’s Far Right. My sense is that many Americans don’t know much about his movement. Can you tell us a little about it, and what led you to cover it? A. Americans don’t know much about what happened in Japan after the war and complicity of the US government in resurrecting many of the same war criminals who started the war. The uyoko are an ever present force in Japan and are very effective at limiting democracy and debate in Japan. Opponents to the Imperial Family, apologists for the war, union leaders, pacifists, ethnic minorities, all kinds of ordinary Japanese have been attacked and murdered (and many more silenced) by the right-wing extremists in Japan.
Q. Why do you think young people, like those pictured here are drawn to the Uyoko?  Young right wingers harass opponents on the streets of Tokyo.
A. For many it’s simply a job. For many, it’s also a place to find a home. Many come from broken homes and tough backgrounds so the uyoko can provide them with a sense of importance and power that they feel they lack. It’s why young people do stupid things in many countries and it’s how older people manipulate young people to do stupid things for them.
Q. Were you in physical danger while taking these shots? A. None at all. They were actually quite nice. Being a foreigner helps, you’re kind of an oddity so they enjoyed having me around, if only to watch my odd foreign ways. I obliged them by playing the role of the dumb ‘baka na gaijin’ or foreigner. I generally find that people in any society or situation are usually motivated by the same things. Show some kindness, be genuine and polite and there’s rarely a problem. I often find humor is the best way to disarm people in difficult situations.
 A Japanese yakuza gangster in the door of an extremist’s group sound truck.
Q. I found this photograph to be amazingly striking. The man’s style seems to come right out of Dick Tracy. He’s obviously posing for you, which leads me to wonder whether or not he saw you as a vehicle for promoting his message. Would it bother you if one of the effects of this photograph was to spread that message? A. Actually he wasn’t posing but he briefly froze in the door when he saw me.
Q. First, I just want to say, “Wow.” This is quite an impressive set of photographs. What led you to take them? A. For the same reason you said ‘wow’. It’s actually a well photographed event but something I wanted to try. It wasn’t easy. It was extremely hot and there was lots of blood flying around from the whips. By the time I got to the crucifixions I was so exhausted I don’t think I even noticed the nails being pounded in. The crowds and the crush were crazy so getting up front for to photograph required a lot of shoving. It’s not something for the faint of heart.
Q. As I look at shots like this, I wonder what you were thinking as you stood so close to someone about to have a nail driven through his hand. So . . . what was going through your mind when you took this shot?
 Annual crucifixions are held by devout Filipino Catholics to celebrate Easter in San Fernando, north of Manila. Before being crucified participants whip themselves, or are whipped by locals, for penance.
A. I swear, I was so tired I didn’t notice until I got the film back that I caught that moment. It happened very quickly and I only got 2-3 frames. This one just worked out perfectly.
Q. Was this man aware of you when you took this shot? How did he react to you?
A. There were all in a trance basically so I’m sure they didn’t notice us. Q. What was the toughest part about taking these pictures? A. Heat, blood, dust, crowds. I’d never do it again.
on the profession Q. What do you wish you’d known about the profession before you entered it? A. I’d never get rich. Just kidding. I wish I had some staff work at a paper somewhere, I think it would have taught me more discipline. I’ve always freelanced so had to learn a lot of things the hard way.
Q. Do you enjoy your work? What are the best and worst things about it? A. Enjoy isn’t a strong enough word. I’m lucky to do what I do and know there’s not much else I can do at this point.
Q. What techniques do you use to photograph people on the street without making them aware that you are shooting them? A. I don’t sneak up on people or use long lenses. Quite often I enjoy the reaction I get with the camera but most often if I want a more unaffected scene I simply wait and shoot slowly until the people get bored of me and carry on doing what they do.
Q. What cameras and lenses do you use most often? A. Nikon F100 35mm, small and compact, and a Nikon D2X for digital assignment work. I have all the Nikon F1.4 lenses so can never really leave Nikon, I love these lenses so much.
Q. What’s the most important quality a photographer needs to have? A. Perseverance.
Q. What goes into a good crop? A. I rarely crop my images so can’t really say. I have no problem with slight crops (less than 10%) to clean up an image a little, maybe clear off the edges but never more than that.
Q. What books do you recommend to people hoping to learn more about photography? A. Actually I think the best way to be a good photographer is to have interests other than photography so I’d recommend reading anything other than photo books but about subjects you want to photograph. You have to be careful to see that photos are simply a means to an end, not an end in themselves.
I’d like to thank Stuart for taking the time to answer my questions. You can find his work in the pages of The New York Times, on Flickr, and on his portfolio site.
11.19.06
Cat Power Among the FrenchI think that her best work is yet to come. (title song from from The Greatest)
Update: At 7pm tonight, NPR will broadcast online, in its entirety, a Cat Power show from Washington’s 9:30 Club (via Matador). 11.17.06
Friday Random TenRandom Quote from The Big Lebowski Random Quote Generator to get us in the mood: Walter: Were you listening to the Dude’s story?
Donny: They posted the next round of the tournament– Walter: Donny, shut the f–when do we play? On to the FRT. To play, put your digital music player on shuffle, click play, and list the first ten songs that show up. Leave your list in comments or trackbacks. If you click past the bad or embarrassing songs, you may have to sit out the next round of the tournament. Here’s my list: 1. “Lowlands,” Gillian Welch (Soul Journey) Favorite Song: “Old College Try” What’s on your list? 11.16.06
RevoltingFrom the UCLA Daily Bruin: Community responds to Taser use in Powell (via Dr. B and Shakes):
An incident late Tuesday night in which a UCLA student was stunned at least four times with a Taser has left the UCLA community questioning whether the university police officers’ use of force was an appropriate response to the situation.
Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a UCLA student, was repeatedly stunned with a Taser and then taken into custody when he did not exit the CLICC Lab in Powell Library in a timely manner. Community Service Officers had asked Tabatabainejad to leave after he failed to produce his BruinCard during a random check at around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. I don’t think that “stunned at least four times with a Taser” does justice to the brutal acts of violence committed by these campus policemen. Here is the video of the incident, taken by a student with a camera phone. Be warned: it is deeply disturbing.
Because I found the video so distressing, I hesitated before posting it here. But, like Shakes, I think that this kind of unnecessary force is one consequence of the acceptance of torture in the United States. And it’s all too easy for us to hide from that. Shakes writes:
Honestly, I don’t even know what to say about it. It’s fucking ridiculous. And I absolutely believe that we’ll continue to see more and more of these kinds of abuses of power so long as we, as a country, continue to move in a direction where civil rights are treated as a joke and the notion we shouldn’t torture people is considered quaint. Wrapped up within all that is the culture of fear and suspicion generated specifically so our government can convince us to give away our rights and freedoms. This incident is a direct result of the obsession with security and associated de facto distrust of our fellow citizens that has become the American norm. We’re becoming crazy and rash and aggressive because of our fears, and such behavior is sanctioned all the way to the top of this nation’s leadership.
I’m reminded of the words of Frederick Douglass:
Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.
The times have changed, but the hypocrisy endures.
Update: Scott Eric Kaufman, in the Bitch, Ph.D. comment thread:
According the University of California Police Department:
The Hiring, Training and Backgrounds Unit worked to recruit and qualify candidates for several police and dispatch positions. We have enhanced the roll-call training program by interfacing it with the California P.O.S.T.’s police training DVD series. We are also in the beginning phases of transitioning to using the Advanced X26 Taser in the field. Now, I wonder what a Taser X26 does, according to its instruction manual [.pdf]: TASER-induced strong muscle contractions usually render a subject temporarily unable to control his or her psychomotor movements. This may result in secondary injuries such as those due to falls. This loss of control, or inability to catch oneself, can in special circumstances increase the risk(s) of serious injury or death. But but but, it’s only temporary. Well then, it’s a good thing they didn’t taser him multiple times, or (as the instruction manual says): When practical, avoid prolonged or continuous exposure(s) to the TASER device’s electrical discharge. In some circumstances, in susceptible people, it is conceivable that the stress and exertion of extensive repeated, prolonged, or continuous application(s) of the TASER device may contribute to cumulative exhaustion, stress, and associated medical risk(s). “Cumulative exhaustion”? What? Like that’d stop someone from getting up? I’m sorry, I don’t know the specifics, but if the instruction manual clearly states that the student may have been physically incapable to comply with the officers’ requests, you’d think that’d be important. Update #2: Digby has more:
Excruciating pain is now commonly accepted as a proper way for the police to bend people to their will. It’s often used against the mentally ill who populate our streets and is increasingly used in cases of civil disobedience. It’s not even particularly controversial.
Police insist that it is a great tool to keep them from having to use lethal force. As you can see by this horrific film (via Americablog) it is more commonly used to force compliance and exert absolute authority. In this film you see the police first tasering the college student because he’s yelling at them and then tasering him again on the ground because he refuses to properly respond to an order to stand up. The thought behind this seems to be that because tasing (usually) doesn’t leave any severe marks or lasting damage, it’s alright for the police to use this tool to inflict terrible pain on people who are slow or refuse to cooperate. In this case, you can see that this was purely a matter of swaying this person to their will, not a matter of protecting themselves or others. There were a whole bunch of police present and dozens of witnesses. They could have dragged the suspect out. Update #3: Student Plans Lawsuit; Rallies Planned (LA Times) 11.13.06
2006 Elections: The Myth of CentrismOnly days after the sweeping election victories by Democrats, the pundit class has attempted to frame those victories as the fruit of centrist politics rather than as the result of netroots-supported progressive politics. Need proof? Just take a gander at this comparison, put together by Media Matters, of two Time Magazine covers: one following the Republican sweep in 1994, and one that’s about to be published on the Demoratic sweep of ‘06 (via Atrios). One of my favorite bloggers, the eloquent Tom Watson, rips the entire meme to shreds in this wonderful post about the effect of Ned Lamont and the netroots on the recent election:
A few steak dinners from now, a couple of Meet the Press’s, and some tough hearings in January and Joe Lieberman will be safely back inside the ruling Democratic majority on Capitol Hill. That’s fine. But he should never forget that it was Ned Lamont - the challenger he churlishly demonized - who pushed a lazy, safe, back-bencher, ossified party leadership to take on George Bush and Karl Rove and George Allen and Donald Rumsfeld. It was Ned Lamont who made the Democrats make this election about the failed war in Iraq, and thereby opened the door to a wider discussion that brought Congress back.
And it was the netroots, so easily dismissed by the committees and their oak-paneled rooms in the District, so falsely mocked by intellectual lightweights like David Brooks, who made Ned Lamont possible. Ned Lamont and a couple of outsiders named Jim Webb and Jon Tester, the two Senators-elect who were entirely embraced by bloggers on the left even while they were ignored and under-funded by consultants in the center. There’s a myth out there a-growin’ that this historic election of 2006 pushed the Democratic Party “back to the center,” that the big winners were Democratic “conservatives,” that Americans will only elect right-leaning candidates. It’s all as false as the south in George Allen’s twang, as empty as the pages in David Brooks’ reporters notebooks. Further, it tosses the economic underpinnings of the switch-over, particularly in the House races, where the big wave predictions came horribly true for the GOP. Reagan Democrats and their children are starting to peel away, move back to the party of their grandparents, finding the promises have all be broken. As I commented on Tom’s post: “The ability of the pundit class to absorb, distort, and misconstrue events frustrates and baffles me. It’s insane, really, to watch these memes, these faux-narratives, spring up out of nowhere and becoming controlling paradigms. And it happens over and over again. “But, as this post and others like it prove, this is where blogs can and should come in as vital correctives to the group-think of media pundits. “Someone’s got to do it, I guess . . . might as well be us.” 11.12.06
“You don’t have to do that any more”An open letter to Senator Carl Levin from Ray McGovern, regarding the Democratic response to Bush’s plan to push through the nomination of Robert Gates as Defense Secretary during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress (via Susie):
One need not be politically astute to see that the White House is again using its cat’s paw Senator, patrician gentleman from Virginia John Warner, who now chairs the committee, to force through the nomination of Gates this year, while the lame-duck Republicans still hold the majority. That, of course, is par for the course. What is far more disturbing is press reporting that you intend to acquiesce in that maneuver. You don’t have to do that any more.
I am having a hard time believing that you would give Gates a pass, since I have so much admired your courage in the past. But I fear that the many recent years in minority exile may have dulled your edge and that you have gotten too used to unsavory compromises. I have in mind the deal you worked out with South Carolina Republican senator Lindsay Graham curtailing some of the rights of “detainees.” Not to mention your sudden cave-in, in the aftermath of 9/11, on funding for the National Missile Defense program, which you earlier recognized as obscenely expensive, of unproven reliability, and of dubious utility given the changing nature of the threats to our security. It’s not the most politic letter I’ve ever seen, but it will be interesting to see the extent to which Democrats will be able to overcome the last six years of shell-shock in order to bend the President’s will to their own in the coming years. 11.10.06
Friday unRandom Ten: Chimes of Freedom Flashing EditionFridays usually bring The Friday Random Ten to this blog, but Tuesday’s elections have me in a decidedly unRandom state of mind. So: unRandom quote from Thomas Jefferson to get us in the mood:
A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles.
– Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Taylor, 1798 Now, onto the unRandom Ten. To play in this week’s special edition of the Friday Random Ten, fire up your digital music player, search your music library for words like “freedom” and “victory” and “sanity” and “balance,” and list your ten favorite tracks. Here are my top ten “freedom” tracks: 1. “The Freedom in the Loot,” The Drones (Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By) Song that best expresses the energy I feel after this election: The Drones, “The Freedom in the Loot”
Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind An’ the unpawned painter behind beyond his rightful time An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing. 11.09.06
Bush’s First Gesture of “Bipartisanship”Yesterday, many media sources uncritically gave Bush credit for “reaching out” towards victorious Democrats with talk of “bipartisanship.” Democratic strategist Cliff Schecter’s response? We’ll believe it when we see it. (via Atrios) It turns out that we didn’t have to wait long to find out whether Bush’s gesture was sincere; today, Steve Clemons of The Washington Note reports that Bush is trying to push the Bolton nomination through a lame duck session in order to circumvent the upcoming Democratic congress (via Susie). Thankfully, it appears that Lincoln Chafee for one, isn’t buying it: according to Clemons, he has declared that he will not support Bolton’s nomination. Perhaps that’s because he, unlike Bush, understands what the word “bipartisan” means. Oh, this is going to be a fun couple of years . . .
Update: Bitch Ph.D. on Bush’s first words of “bipartisanship”:
Holy crap, Bush really *did* say “In my first act of bipartisan outreach since the election, I shared with her [Pelosi] the names of some Republican interior decorators who can help her pick out the the new drapes for her new offices.”
While my jaw was lying on the floor, apparently an idea crawled in. Here it is: Who can come up with a more tone-deaf statement about the importance of Pelosi’s becoming the highest-ranked woman in American history? I gotta admit it: I’m stumped. You are browsing
the Archives of The Tattered Coat for November 2006.
Recent Comments
Me: I am reading a lot of the posts and feel rather... Lost Girl: Day Two. Hurts to breathe. :( Rat Tail: Refer back, Push forward. dalethorn: The connection between Bennett's Drug Czar... Shelley: God I hate days like this... You would think by... Subscribe
Feeds
Categories
Most Commented
Shopping at Amazon.com or iTunes? Support this site by clicking the links above to get there. It won't cost you a dime, and I'll get a 4% kickback of what you spend. Sweet! Archives
 
|
Stuart Isett
